


Painting a Picture

by vivvav



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, The AFR Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 12:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10921692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivvav/pseuds/vivvav
Summary: Joker's regular visits to the Velvet Room become a subject of interest for a couple of his team members.





	Painting a Picture

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on two different writing prompts from /u/grodr2001 on the Persona 5 subreddit. The first prompt was asking how Ryuji would react to Joker staring off into space at the start of every mission. The second was asking how he would explain Igor to his teammates.

The Phantom Thieves' outfits were the manifestation of their rebellious spirits. Their willpower itself shaped into something tangible. As such, the young rogues were never really uncomfortable when operating in the Cognitive World. Their clothes never rode up or felt stuffy. And yet, as they stood on the deck of the luxury cruise liner that was Shido's Palace, the Phantom Thieves couldn't help but be aware of just how much more skin their thief outfits covered than ordinary clothing. As the great ship of excess continued its endless voyage across the seemingly infinite sea that had drowned the nation of Japan, the Phantom Thieves felt a cold, unsettling wind crawl across any part of them that wasn't covered. The bulk of their faces were protected by their masks, but their eyes could feel the perturbing gale. It flowed through their hair, the only inkling of freedom it provided being a reminder of just what was at stake if Masayoshi Shido successfully rose to power. The group desperately wanted to go inside, to continue their hunt for the letters of recommendation needed to get to Shido's treasure, but they couldn't. In order for them to operate, they needed their leader on the front lines. And their leader, Ren Amamiya, codenamed "Joker", was indisposed at the moment.

"He's doin' that weird thing again."

Ryuji was referring to Ren's occasional habit of walking off to the side and spacing out at the entrance of Palaces. He'd just stand still, hands in his coat pockets, staring off into space. If anybody tried to say something to him he wouldn't talk back. Sure, he'd give low, unintelligible mumbles, but it didn't seem like he was responding to anybody present. It was like he was having some conversation with somebody who wasn't there. Sometimes Futaba or Haru or somebody would try poking him, but he didn't react.

"Just let it be" Yusuke said. "It seems that whenever our leader goes into one of these mysterious trances, he emerges with superior Personas. When he is ready to resume our mission, it will be with renewed and redoubled strength."

This was indeed the reason the group had stopped worrying about Ren's moments. Even Morgana, who was more privy to the technical workings of the Cognitive World and Personas, couldn't really provide a full explanation as to how Ren's ability to wield multiple Personas worked. At best, all he could say is that he felt like he should know, but didn't.

"Yeah, I know." Ryuji kicked at the floor. "But it's still just borin' waitin' for him to finish whatever he's doin'. It's takin' him longer each time!"

"I'm with Skull on this one" Ann said. "Whenever we're just standing around like this, I can't help but feel tense."

"Exactly! We gotta relieve this tension! It's one thing to be alert and stuff right before we get goin', but we don't wanna be wound up too tight, right?"

"That's actually a pretty good point, Skull." Futaba gawked at Ryuji, clearly surprised by the fact that he managed to vocalize something intelligent. "But what should we do? Play a game or something?"

"That's a wonderful idea, Oracle!" Haru looked around at the others. "Did anybody think to take a deck of cards from that casino?"

"Nah..." Ryuji looked back towards Ren. He got the most wicked, punkish grin on his face that any of them had ever seen. "But I got somethin' better in mind." Ryuji slowly walked over to Ren, almost as if he were sneaking up on him.

"Skull, just what do you intend on doing?" Ryuji could feel Makoto's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. Ordinarily, the prospect of invoking Queen's wrath would be enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Today, however, he was feeling especially emboldened.

"Relax, Queen. This'll be hilarious!"

Ryuji moved in front of Ren and waved his hand in front of his eyes.

"Yo, Joker! You with us?"

Ryuji poked Ren's forehead a couple times, then pinched one of his cheeks. There was no response, save for the usual mumbling.

"Hey Fox, you got a marker on ya I could borrow?"

"Of course." Yusuke reached into his pocket and pulled out an assortment of markers. "Is there a particular hue you would prefer?"

"Just plain ol' black is good!" Ryuji held out his hand and Yusuke tossed a black marker to him.

"Fox, what are you doing!?" Morgana turned to Yusuke, pointing back towards Ryuji. "Why are you helping that moron with whatever stupid thing he's about to do!?"

"Artistic curiosity." Yusuke looked at Morgana plainly, and spoke with a voice that matched. "I am interested to see what a less refined soul such as Skull will create when given the opportunity. It will be like studying the cave paintings of mankind's primitive days."

Ryuji held the marker in his mouth, stepped back, and created a frame with his fingers like he'd seen Yusuke do a hundred times. He focused on Ren's blank cheek and chuckled to himself. He took the marker out of his mouth, pulled off the cap, and started to advance the tip towards Ren's face.

A red-gloved hand shot up and wrapped its fingers around Ryuji's wrist, squeezing tightly, causing him to drop the marker.

"My my, Skull." Ren's face had come to life. He had an amused look in his eye, a sly smirk forming just below his mask. "Has being on a boat finally stirred the pirate inside you to mutiny?"

"I got no idea what you're talkin' about!" Ryuji laughed nervously.

"Right..." Ren let go of Ryuji's hand and bent down to pick up the marker, never breaking eye contact with the blonde-haired troublemaker. "So you _weren't_ just about to draw a dick on my face?"

"You got me, Joker." Ryuji backed up a bit, a little embarrassed, but still pleased with his idea, even if his plan had failed.

"Real mature, Skull." Ann just shook her head. She wished she could be surprised, but she'd known Ryuji far too long for that to be the case.

"Is _that_ what he was going to use _my_ marker for!? How appalling!" Yusuke held out his hand. "Joker, I request that my artistic tool be returned to me at once!"

"Sure thing." Ren walked over to the group, Ryuji following him a few steps behind. He handed the marker to Yusuke. "Alright team, it's time to start the show!"

* * *

It'd been a day full of fighting, sexual harassment from some creepy royal guy, lots of evil idiots bragging about how evil they were, and about a hundred billion transformations from human to mouse and back again, but the group now had four letters of recommendation. Ren wanted to wrap things up and take on the Cleaner, but the others were just too tired to go on. Ultimately, the Phantom Thieves decided to call it a day. The sun was down outside of the Diet Building when they reappeared in the real world, and everybody went their separate ways, save for Yusuke, who pulled Ren aside.

"Ren, might I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"What's up, Yusuke?" Ren looked at Morgana, who nodded and jumped out of his bag, running off after Futaba.

"I just wanted to apologize to you for allowing Ryuji to take possession of one of my markers earlier." Yusuke bowed deeply before Ren, his body forming almost a perfect ninety degree angle. He raised his head. "Although I imagined Ryuji would draw something crude, I pictured it in the sense of the word meaning 'unskilled in artistry', not in the meaning of 'tasteless and vulgar'. In retrospect, I should have expected as much."

"Thank you, Yusuke." Ren tried not to laugh. Generally speaking, he had to repress his more impulsive reactions around Yusuke. The young artist was often very funny, but rarely trying to be. He lived in his own little world, but he took that world very seriously, and Ren didn't want Yusuke to think that he looked down on him for it. There were times that Ren wished he could perceive life as his lanky friend did. "But it's really not a big deal. You took a bet that your friend was going to do something interesting instead of something dumb. That's a good attitude to have."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Ren had to focus on Yusuke's mouth when talking to him. In calmness, Yusuke's eyes tended to look a little gloomy, but his smile was always geniune. Sure enough, Yusuke was happy. "Still, I shudder to think what would have happened had you not returned from your fugue state sooner." After a moment, Yusuke's smiling lips reshaped into a stern configuration, the corners of his mouth tightening.

"Something wrong, Yusuke?"

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is going on when you exhibit that strange behavior? Some of us have theorized that it's some sort of meditative trance that allows you to reconfigure the Shadows in your heart, but that is pure speculation."

"It's kinda hard to explain. It's a really weird experience..." Ren scratched his head. It's not that he had never wanted to tell the other Phantom Thieves about the Velvet Room, he just really never knew how he could explain it without freaking the rest of them out. "Though I guess if anybody can make some kind of sense of it, it's you.”

"I'm flattered to know you think so highly of me." Yusuke gave Ren a wink. Coming from him, it was incredibly awkward, clearly not a gesture he was accustomed to making. "I shall keep secret from Makoto that you feel you can entrust me with this information above even her. I would not want to be the source of any turbulence in your romantic affairs."

"How did you-"

"I have an eye for such things, after all. I can sense passion when it is nearby." Ren chose not to mention the time Yusuke thought two siblings were dating. He tended to get melodramatic when suffering a blow to his ego. "I assume such sensory awareness of the less-than-tangible is why you feel I am equipped to learn your secret."

"Something like that." Ren was content to let Yusuke have his moment. His ego trips were usually more deserved and far more tolerable than Morgana's. "So the thing is, you're right. When I go into those trances, I am getting more powerful Personas. But it's not meditation. I actually go to another place entirely."

"Really? But you don't seem to go anywhere. Am I to assume that you are going on a journey in mind only?"

"I'm not entirely sure how it works. It's like my consciousness or soul leaves my body. It doesn't just happen in Palaces, sometimes it happens against my will while I'm asleep. At first I thought it was all just a dream, but then I became able to go there on my own while I was awake."

"Fascinating. And where exactly is this place that you go?"

"It's called 'the Velvet Room'."

"'Velvet', you say?" Yusuke rubbed his chin and closed his eyes, trying to envision it. "It sounds luxurious. I can see crimson sheets of soft material hanging from the ceilings, draped about elegantly."

"It's not like that at all."

"Oh?" Yusuke opened his eyes. He was still relatively calm, so they were hard to read, but Ren could swear that he was disappointed.

"It's a cold place. Mostly blue. Not soft and inviting at all. It's actually a prison."

"A prison!?" _Now_ Ren could identify the look in Yusuke's eyes. Plain old shock. "How ghastly! And you visit this place willingly!?"

"It was freaky at first, but I got used to it." Ren spoke casually. The truth is, the Velvet Room had a lot of unknown factors that still worried him, but he didn't want Yusuke to share in those fears. "That place is the only real lead I have to understanding how I got wrapped up in all of this Persona stuff to begin with."

"How do you mean?"

"So right in front of my cell is this round open space. And sitting in the middle is this desk. There's this old man who sits at the desk named Igor, and he's all long and spindly, with a big bald head, crazy eyes, and a long, beak-like nose. Kinda like a tengu."

"How dreadful."

"He's actually not that bad. Creepy as all hell, but he's very polite." Ren shook his head and smiled. "It's the wardens that are the real pain in the ass."

"'Wardens'? Plural?"

"Yeah. Igor's their boss, but they call themselves the wardens. They're these two little girls dressed in guard uniforms, Caroline and Justine. Except I don't think they're actually little girls. They've each got one eyepatch, and they're total opposites. They've got some kind of yin-yang thing going."

"Are they black and white?"

"No. Justine is missing her left eye, and she's the calm one. She's always a little gloomy and reserved, and wears her hair in this braided ponytail. Caroline is kinda crazy and excitable. She's missing her right eye, wears her hair in these buns, and I'm pretty sure she's some kind of sadist. She's very rude."

"I see. Now, about your Personas..." Yusuke stared at Ren's arms, scanning them for some reason. "Do these Wardens put you to hard labor to strengthen yourself? Do they have you breaking rocks?"

"No, they actually strengthen my Personas for me. But it's really gruesome how they do it."

"Do tell." There was a hint of morbid fascination in Yusuke's voice.

"They have all this execution equipment. Guillotines, electric chairs, stuff like that. You know how sometimes I summon these new Personas that don't look like any of the Shadows we've encountered before?"

"Yes. It is always a delightful surprise! It certainly makes Morgana's appraisal of you as a 'trickster' feel quite appropriate."

"Well, they do that. They take two Personas of mine, execute them, and mix their essences together into something new."

"My goodness!" Yusuke put his hands on Ren's shoulders. "Are not Personas an extension of one's own heart!? That must be incredibly agonizing!"

"Calm down, Yusuke." Ren removed his friend's hands from his person. "I don't feel anything. I can't really explain why. But I promise you I'm fine."

"Well, that is good to know." Yusuke stood in silence for a few moments. Ren wanted to say something, but didn't want to interrupt his chain of thought. Finally, Yusuke spoke again. "I thank you for this information, Ren. I promise not to share it with the others. For now, I believe it is time for us to retire to our homes."

"Alright, Yusuke." Ren turned around and headed for the subway, waving back to him. "Get home safe."

"And you as well!"

* * *

One week had passed since that night. In that time, the Phantom Thieves had stolen Shido's treasure and were waiting on his change of heart. It was a tense time, especially with them learning the full truth about Goro Akechi and his subsequent death. Ren had made sure to visit all of his friends at least once since the collapse of Shido's Palace to see how they were doing, but he'd been unable to get in touch with Yusuke. He was sitting in his room in Leblanc, watching the news to see if anything would come on about Shido, when his phone buzzed. He looked at the screen to see a text message from Yusuke.

> I apologize for my recent lack of communication. I am presently en route to pay you a visit. All will be made clear soon.

Half an hour went by before Yusuke arrived at the cafe. When he did, he had a covered painting with him. Ren met him downstairs, and they headed back up to his room so as not to disturb Sojiro.

"So..." Ren sat on his bed. "You brought over your latest work?"

"Very astute of you." Yusuke was setting up his painting in the center of the room.

"Is this another update to 'Hope and Desire'?"

"It is something entirely new." Yusuke turned to Ren, the covered painting now sitting on an easel. "I wanted you to be the first to see it, as it was inspired by a recent conversation of ours."

"Alright then! Show me what you got!"

"If you insist!" Yusuke removed the tarp over the painting with a flourish. Ren got up from his bed and approached the painting to get another look at it.

It was, in a word, unsettling. This painting was not the abstract mess of red and black swirls like Yusuke's depiction of Mementos. It took place in a haunting setting, mostly purple in color. Ren's eye was drawn to two birds in the center of the painting. One was only visible from the left side, a black raven. It was tearing away at a pile of human bodies with its talons. The other was a white dove, only visible from the right side. It was holding a muscular arm. The arm was being attached to a figure at the bottom of the painting, a naked man with an iron ball shackled to his ankle. Overlooking the grisly tableau was a menacing old owl, its eyes widened and peering fiendishly at the viewer.

"Wow, Yusuke." Ren found himself in a staring contest with the owl. "This is not what I was expecting from you."

"Yes, I wanted to do something a bit different from my usual work." Yusuke stood proudly, pleased by how Ren's eyes were affixed to the painting. "I call it, 'Velvet Reconstruction!'"

"Oh." Ren managed to look away from the painting, directing his attention to Yusuke. "That's an odd title."

"This painting represents your description of the Velvet Room. Do you not see that?"

"No, I get it. But nobody besides us is going to know that." Ren looked back at the painting. "It's not very 'velvety', is it?"

"Yes, I suppose there is room for improvement in that regard." Yusuke moved next to Ren and started to analyze the painting. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, aren't velvet paintings a thing? Like, instead of a normal canvas, you paint with bright colors on black velvet?" Ren turned to Yusuke. "I mean, that might be a bit too literal for your artistic tastes, but I guess that's where I would've started."

"Of course!" Yusuke rushed over to the easel and picked up the painting. "The base for this piece is all wrong! I must repaint it on the proper canvas!" Yusuke looked to Ren. "Tell me, where is your furnace? I must destroy this!"

"Time out, Yusuke! Does this place look like it has a furnace?" Ren pointed to the tower heater Sojiro had given him for the winter. " _That's_ the only source of heat I have!"

"It shall have to do!" Yusuke proclaimed.

Ren spent the next few minutes trying to stop Yusuke's plan of holding the painting to the heater until it caught flame. Eventually he convinced Yusuke to not try starting a fire in Leblanc's attic. With the taller boy calmed down, they looked to the TV and began channel surfing until they found some old black and white movie airing that Yusuke took an interest in. After the movie, the two had some curry, Yusuke always more than happy to accept a free meal. With his mind calmed and his stomach filled, Yusuke took his painting and headed back to his dormitory, ready to begin the artistic process anew. Now he just had to find some velvet...

**Author's Note:**

> Update: This fic's been changed to use Joker's canon name.


End file.
